the :|

on a day like this i really should be brimming with happiness.
but perhaps it's just one of those mixed-feelings days i guess.

nonetheless, i could never deny the great week that it has been.
plus the awesome day today.

really grateful for everything; the performance today.
thanks to the crowd the emcee the soundcrew the band and our supporters.
happy with the way things turned out... smooth running and all.
even though i made quite a few mistakes and several jarring errors, i'm still satisfied overall.
i mean, as long as people enjoyed our music right?
wooooo

here's to the horizon smile :|   cheers!

sidetrack: brandon flowers rocks.
i hope crossfire becomes mainstream sometime soon so we can do it and it won't be one of those weird unknown unheard-of songs nobody sings to.

also, jilted lovers and broken hearts is really one fine lyrical work of art.
i have to say.

:( + :) = :|

you did a fine job of hiding
that crooked ace up your sleeve
you double down my direction
you kiss me on the cheek and leave
i followed you through the darkness
i followed you through the cold
but woman i can tell you one thing
you're gonna wish you could go back and fold


why did you roll your dice?
show your cards?
jilted lovers and broken hearts
you're flying away
while i'm still stuck here on the ground
you're out on the wind
while i'm still waiting to be found


will i ever win?
only time will tell
you gotta suffer to remember how
our ideals never really marched in time
that's the bottomline


jilted lovers and broken hearts

contentness and happiment

i've had a pretty good week this week.
(so far at least)

after beerfest ending on sunday...
i hibernated on monday, went for supper and drinking at regentville with the grimbergen blonde loot we acquired.
also, reset my mcatdr with the story of how i got my cool bottle-opening corona cap >:)

soccer at 0900 on tues for 4 hours, had good kampong chicken rice...
then jamming at smu... tried playing the cajon for the first time, it's quite cool.
good session and practice for sat.

wed was spent in school doing psych camp stuff; our og is gonna be pretty cool i think.
altho i haven't seen what the others have done, i think our flag is freaking wicked.
and then xmen first class in town, which was a great great movie.
more vocal practice and settling of song arrangements at night, till 6am, which resulted in waking late today.

but managed to make it on time for badminton at 3pm in bukit batok though.

which brings me to my blogpost for today.
how i managed to make it on time for badminton.
how a complete stranger gave me a lift to the train station after we exchanged small talk at the lift lobby.

i wonder what drives such kind acts?
altruism? (which i really sometimes truly doubt exists)
was it out of sympathy, putting herself in my shoes and understanding what it was like to be running late?
or perhaps she thought if she helped me, one day i'd help her back?
could it also be possible she helped me to achieve some form of self-satisfaction, so that she would feel good about herself?

i really don't know... there are so many answers which will never be proven.

but one thing was sure.
that kind act gave me a positive boost this morning.
and that reminded me of an epiphany i had recently.

i realised it's all about the happiness, and our contentment.
if we are not contented with life, we lack positivity.
we lack the spirit, and the discipline to do constructive things.
we'll always be lacklustre, and take a pessimistic point of view...
becoming more susceptible to falling into the doldrums.

just like how if you're in 1 x good mood, the whole day will be just pleasant.
when you feel you've had a great week, the positivity just flows and radiates.
you'll be supercharged for next week.

even if some irresponsible driver cuts your lane and almost causes an accident, you'd just forgive and forget.
he probably had a bad day, or may be rushing somewhere?

on the other hand, if you're filled with negativity and discontentment from the past week, you'd probably react much differently.

to round up, perhaps i haven't found my true meaning for happiness in life yet.
therefore i have to rely on what i do each day to keep me happy.
as long as i am contented with what i've achieved each day, i'll be positive enough to take the next day on.

anyone who agrees with me say 'aye'

i can't remember when it was good
moments of happiness elude
maybe i just misunderstood


all of the love we left behind
watching the flashbacks intertwine
memories i will never find


falling away with you

save water, drink beer

sorry all, i've been busy lately so my blog hasnt been updated in a bit.

it's funny really...
ever since the adidas event last month, i've been keeping a lookout for beerfest vacancies.
i knew it'd be loads of fun working there, and really hoped i'd be able to.
and long story short, one hour before the start of beerfest i got called in to replace some last-min pull-out.
haha damn lucky...

'cause beerfest asia 2011 was honestly a blast.
even though it has been a real disconnecting and bodyclock-spoiling 4 days.
i hardly had time for myself, not to mention enough sleep.
but it was an awesome experience, this i say again and again.

meeting new people, the new colleagues and friends.
being there to soak in the lights and sounds at marina promenade was terrific.

the music from the tribute bands: u2 achtungbaby, the rolling stones, the beatles, the blues brothers and killer queen!
and 53A from timbre were great too!
they really made my nights when everybody else was drinking and we (the staff) weren't allowed alcohol.

the free stuff: free beer free drumlets free fries free beer chips and other free things >:)
gotta' thank benny my beer supplier from APB and all the other people who gave me free stuff.
what goes around comes around so they gave me free things i gave them free things (vice versa)

plus, drinking on the job was awesome lol.
sneaking beer around while wearing the crew t-shirt and crew pass was a challenge.
very 47-ish, i like.

and the last night was the best, knocking off early and running around enjoying free beers legitimately.
plus the company... really a good ending to the entire festival.

to round off, here's a list of the new beers i tried for the first time.
(disclaimer: i've edited my "half-a-beer maximum" rule to render ineffective during any subsequent beerfests)

archipelago belgian wit
archipelago summer ale
archipelago irish ale
archipelago limited edition
somersby apple cider
magner's cider
kronenbourg 1664
krombacher pils
lindemans peach beer
jaz lychee beer
kirin from japan

okay 11 out of the 300 available there seems noob now...
haha hope the postparty for beerfest staff will be awesome!
cheers

time flies (faster)

do you remember, when we were young?
and car rides used to take so long?

going to changi airport felt like an hour...
and the discovery centre felt like miles away.
but now it's like 30 mins.

i highly doubt the speed limits have increased since then...
so probably, when we were young, we paid attention to everything.
we were curious and inquisitive.
we experienced every single moment of that car ride.

but now that we are older.
we've experienced many more things since then.
and we filter out the unimportant moments of our lives.
journeys seem much faster now because we only really do pay attention to the start and the endpoint.

at least that is my theory.
so sometimes i do wish i were a small boy again.

how times flies (even faster now).

we were sitting, we were sitting in the strawberry swing
every moment was so precious
we were sitting, we were talking in the strawberry swing
everybody was for fighting
wouldn't wanna' waste a thing


cold, cold water, bring me round
now my feet won't touch the ground
cold, cold water, what you say?
it's such, it's such a perfect day
it's such a perfect day


i remember, we were walking to strawberry swing
i can't wait until the morning
wouldn't wanna' change a thing


people moving, all the time
inside a perfectly straight line
don't you wanna, scurve away?
and it's such, it's such a perfect day
it's such a perfect day


now the sky could be blue, i don't mind
without you it's a waste of time
could be blue, could be gray
without you i'm just miles away

not the same

sorry for the influx of emo posts lately people.
but apparently it's the season?

sidetrack, i actually have this theory about how readership declines as rate of emo posts increases - an inverse relation.
while on the other hand, readership increases with a high rate of interesting, philosophical, thought-provoking, inspirational, new-perspective kinda' posts.

whether this is true or not, i haven't confirmed yet.

anyway here's a song titled 'not the same'...
an original composition written in under an hour.
hope you enjoy it.


memories
they live inside of me
unforgiving
never ceasing


to haunt me
to remind me
of how we used
of how it used to be


so i'm running away
i'm running you say
and i don't disagree
i'm not the same you see
and i'm running away
i'm drowning today
oh won't you hear my plea
baby won't you set me free


destiny
fate and prophecies
if only they had
spoken to me


sooner than later
tell me not to love her
tell me not to give my heart
and let it all be ripped apart


chorus


and i'm trying to leave it all behind
but it's a little hard to do
what with your fingerprints all over my mind
i'll never be the same without you


chorus and outro

tiger lily

today i revisited a special place in my memory.

and i think it's been roughly 4 years since i was last there.
but i still remember it all, quite clearly and vividly.

the night sky.
the sparse clouds like purple blotches upon a maroon background.
the gentle breeze upon our faces.
the sloped ramp that ran beneath...
the soft music through the earphones.
even the security guard who came by later on.

sigh those were the days (:
but they are long lost in memories now.

and i wonder, if it even means anything to be reminiscing about all these...

oh well at the end of the day i'm still glad i have all these memories.

to remind me of how happy i used to be...

we drive tonight
and you are by my side
we're talking about our lives
like we've known each other forever
time flies by


and i want to speak these words
but i guess i'll just bite my tongue
and accept "someday, somehow"
as the words that we'll hang from


why does tonight have to end?
why don't we hit restart
and pause it at our favourite parts
we'll skip the goodbyes


if i had it my way,
i'd turn the car around
and runaway
just you and i

twenty-four

post number 24.

a tribute to my favourite song of all time.

and i suppose we all have our favourite songs...

but there is a ginormous difference between the 'favourite song for now' (much like the friends-for-now theory), and the favourite song of all time.

some FSFNs pass by as our tastes change, or when they get replaced by a new FSFN.

but some stick forever.

and out of those which stick, one will top the lot...

the one you will always regard as your fav aka the FSOAT.

which is why it didn't come as a surprise when i decided to use the number 24 as the title/heading for this blog.

in fact, i would've used it for the url as well...

unfortunately, all possible urls such as twentyfour twenty-four twenty_four etc weren't available.

anyway, this song happens to be by switchfoot just fyi.

and even though it isn't as well-publicized or "mainstreamed" compared to other hit singles like meant to live, dare you to move, only hope, you, stars etc...

i believe jon foreman plays it at all switchfoot concerts.

yup this song is a permanent item on the set list.

and reason being this is also his favourite song, out of all he's written.

moving on.

i believe that each individual tends to interpret a particular song differently, based on his/her own personal perspectives and experiences.

and more often than not, it is only when the meaning of the song (or what we perceive it to be portraying), really hits us and speaks to us in a deep way, that it starts to take a special place in our hearts.

when a song speaks to us about different perspectives...

when it speaks about failure and picking ourselves up again.

about never giving up.

about how life isn't always how it seems to be.

about having hope.

about being true to ourselves.

about humility.

about doing the right thing.

about never giving excuses.

about never copping out.

about being the second man.

about being different people in different scenarios.

when in fact we should always be only one person.

about everything in life coming together in one symphony.

about music.

about the imperfect world.

about wanting to see change.

about having a cause.

about the 24 hours we have each day and what we do with it.

all those are my interpretations of my FSOAT.

what about yours?

24 oceans, 24 skies

24 failures, 24 tries

24 finds me, in 24th place

24 dropouts, at the end of the day

life is not what i thought it was, 24 hours ago

still i'm singing spirit take me up in arms with you

and i'm not who i thought i was, 24 hours ago

still i'm singing spirit take me up in arms with you

24 reasons, to admit that i'm wrong

with all my excuses, still 24 strong

you see i'm not copping out

i'm not copping out

i'm not copping out

and you're raising the dead in me

oh uh oh, oh uh oh

i am the second man

oh uh oh, oh uh oh

i am the second man now

oh uh oh

i am the second man now

and you're raising these

24 voices, with 24 hearts

and all of my symphonies, in 24 parts

but i wanna' be one today

centered and true

i'm singing, spirit take me up in arms with you

you're raising the dead in me

i wanna' see miracles

to see the world change

wrestle the angel

for more than a name

for more than feeling

for more than a cause

i'm singing, spirit take me up in arms with you

and you're raising these

24 oceans

feel the silence

well i don't know where i'm goin'
only know where i've been
and you move through my soul
like a hurricane wind
i've been so lost for so long
i don't know how to get back again

and we're drowning in the water
that flows under this bridge
when you're fighting the current
you forget how to live
and i wanted to reach you
but i don't know where to begin

and you remain, a promise unfulfilled until today...

and if we feel the silence
holding this all inside us
everything means more now than
words could explain

and if we feel the silence
leaving this all behind us
when it's gone
what would you say?

how do we hold on?
how do we hold on?
how do we hold on?
how do we hold on?
how do we hold...

雨天 / 晴天

there's something special about long bus rides and the rain.

something i can't really explain...
but i believe you know what i'm talking about.

and it's just different from everything else, all other modes of transportation.
like cars, taxis, trains etc...
(definitely not motorbikes)

perhaps being at home by the windowsill while it's raining might almost give you a similar feeling.
but most certainly, i wouldn't say that any of these match up to being in a bus while it's raining.

it's times like these when you can really enjoy a prolonged period of 'alone-time'.
just you, yourself, and your ipod randomizing songs as if reading your mind...

and while you sit there, whether in an empty bus or a crowded one...
as long as you know it's going to be a long ride, you tend to get lost in the lyrics of the songs.

unfortunately, to be honest i hardly ever have such chances anymore...
with my bike and all.

therefore glad i had the rare opportunity today.


刮风这天   我试过握着你手
但偏偏   雨渐渐 
大到我看你不见

还要多久   我才能在你身边?
等待放晴的那天   也许我会比较好一点 

从前从前   有个人爱你很久 
但偏偏   风渐渐 
把距离吹得好远
 
好不容易   又能再多爱一天 
但故事的最后你好像还是说了___

deed the right thing

today i saw someone pick up a wallet from the ground at the train station.

he looked around as he held the wallet in his hand...
but nobody else seemed to notice him.

perhaps i was the only one who saw what happened.
and so i lingered, to see what he would do.

he tapped his card and went through the barrier.
continued walking straight towards the escalator.

and just as i thought he was about to go straight down to the train platform, he changed direction and headed towards the control station instead...
and just like any good samaritan, he reported the lost wallet in hope that it might be returned to its rightful owner.

all in all, it was nice seeing a good deed being done... (:
even though the skeptic in me doubted the man right from the beginning.

after all, we have all seen how horrible the world is.
but perhaps there is some good which still remains.

i sincerely hope so.